


Search and matching

by Kiwitty



Series: extremely self indugent crossover AUs [4]
Category: Digimon - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Gen, I'm gonna add characters as I add their chapters, I'm only tagging characters that got focus chapters, Tenko/Himiko makes up a bit of the conflict of chapter 13 but isn't the focus of it, also in chapter 12 there is a animal death but the chapter ends in a nice note, but it's also my first work in years, my writing is at it's worst here, some talk about death as well but this is a non despair au, the ships are really minor, there is some swearing in some bits, they only appear in the last chapter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 11,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25243729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiwitty/pseuds/Kiwitty
Summary: It's simple. You get a question, you answer it truthfully. And then you're paired for life. You need each other to evolve.A danganronpa v3/digimon au.(mostly one shots but some stories connect with others)
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Saihara Shuichi, Chabashira Tenko/Yumeno Himiko, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: extremely self indugent crossover AUs [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2173377
Comments: 10
Kudos: 15





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is a training experiment for a bigger fanfic I'm working in, but since english isn't my first language I decided to try something smaller first, in another setting. I want to know if my english is good enough to convey the ideas I'm trying to pass, or if it still sounds weird. Comments on how I could improve on that are welcome!

Digital monsters. They had simply appeared on the world one day and ever since, nothing had been the same. The way people interacted with virtual realities, smartphones and electric households changed a lot. 

Still, what most people did was befriend digimon and interact with them in their daily life. 

There were lots of stores run by digimon, and people employing digimon in their own stores.

Some people shared their houses with digimon friends. 

It was rare getting a digivice and by so, getting assigned a partner digimon.

Partner digimon. A digimon that was linked to your soul, that needed you to evolve and that in turn, you needed to grow as a person as well.

People who had a partner digimon. Tamers.

Tamers were liked by society, because the digimon they had were immune to most common viruses and could clean infected digimon with their attacks. 

And infected digimon usually meant rampaging digimon. Rampaging digimon were a trouble to society, since digimon, even in their rookie forms were really strong, and most humans couldn’t even touch them, human weapons didn’t affect them as well. Even then, digimon could hurt people. And could affect their surroundings. 

Yet, only digimon could defeat digimon.

Tamers were rare, and were these that brought balance to their society.

But it seemed that studying in Hope's Peak Academy was something that attracted partner digimon.

It started to become so common to their students to find their digivices that the place had even added a few rules: 

_ Digimon need to remain on their digivice in classes, and need to always be in their rookie or champion forms outside them, if their champion form is too big, they will need to always stay in their rookie stage.  _

_ No fights outside the digimon arena.  _

_ Don't let them poop outside the bathrooms.  _

_ Take care of your digimon well.  _

Digimon became a common sight in the towns, in Hope’s Peak academy as well.

They had even built training grounds and bathrooms for partner digimon, and a few classes that were offered by digimon teachers.


	2. Shuichi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What are you looking for?

Shuichi never thought he'd be a tamer material. 

He was always hiding from people, since he didn't like being a detective much, and hated attention. He wanted to stay away from people as much as he could.

One day, when he was watching TV on his room he was faced with a question on it.

_"Do you want to find out the truth?"_

There were two possible answers.

_Yes_ and _No_.

Shuichi tapped Yes. 

And from the TV, a digivice appeared.

It was a black, _applidrive_ type.

He could read a _Pairing: Gatchmon_ written on it.

A chip also jumped over and started floating and a creature that was on it started talking.

"Hello Shuichi! I know everything about you already so it's only fair you get to know about me! Call me Gatchmon! I am a digimon that comes from search app engines!" 

"So an appmon type digimon?"

"Exactly! I bet you know some differences already right? Regular digimon pairings are called partner digimon. Appmon pairings are called Buddy appmon."

"I heard that those paired with appmon can have access and appliarize more than one appmon, since appmon need to link to get stronger, but still are mainly partnered with their buddies..."

"And that’s right! We can turn into these handy appmon chips that you can take everywhere with you and you can lend us to other friends that have appmon as well, in return they can lend their help too!"

"But… why was I paired with an appmon?"

"Usually these that are paired with regular digimon can mostly find the answers to their questions with their partners. And when they can jogress it means they can reach even higher stages with the help of someone else. These paired with Xros digimon are similar to these paired with appmon, they can still get help from these that are willing to help them, but even xros digimon can still evolve by themselves, even if it's way harder. But, those paired with appmon need not only their buddy, but also many others to help them find what they want and reach higher stages!"

"I need others to find what I want?"

"That's right. That’s what you’ll need in your quest to find the truth. But! It's not only you that needs others. I too, will need you, and many others to be able to evolve further."

"I guess it makes sense. Don't you ever wish you were a… you know, _regular_ digimon?"

"I guess _humans_ would think like that. And a few other digimon as well. But _most of us_ see no problem in needing others to get stronger and evolve. We appmon are social digimon. We are better with bonding with others and more versatile with our bonds than most digimon. We see it as having infinite possibilities, infinite choices to make. We don’t like being bound by a single choice. I am proud of being a appmon. And, since you're paired with me as well, it means the possibilities for your future are endless too!"

 _Endless possibilities for the future_ huh. 

Yeah. Sounds nice.

"I see… a buddy huh. Might be good. Let's search for our answers together alright?"

"Roger that! So now, appliarise me! I want to get to know the outside world!"

Walking outside with an appmon felt different. 

Gatchmon was like an impressionable kid that often pointed at stuff and said their name and described stuff about them, it was adorable really.

"Look! A evening Cicada! I heard the sound these make is very distinct!” 

"Look Shuichi! A Shrine! Can we go in? I want to see its bell!”

“Shuichi, you _need_ to get me a Takoyaki, I _always_ wanted to taste one of these!”

And, Shuichi certainly couldn't say a no to his buddy. His pleading eyes were very hard to deny anything to. 

As Shuichi was walking to his agency, however, Gatchmon grabbed his hand and said this before they entered,

“Hey Shuichi. I know your question was _do you want to find the truth?_ but you know the truth can be really painful sometimes right? But, don’t worry, I’ll be by your side from now on so I hope it can hurt less.”

As the time passed, the appmon soon proved to be very useful with its insights on the cases. He noticed patterns that Shuichi didn't, knew other languages, could enter phones and such and soon became an essential part of Shuichi's investigations. Shuichi had become quite comfortable with an specific way of being a detective: 

As a _“Cyber Sleuth”,_ he helped not only people but digimon as well with their problems, and didn’t need to pick so many cases that made him uncomfortable. 

He was truly glad he was paired with Gatchmon.

Still, his quest for the truth was still far from being over.

He saw his notification e-mails, one interested him a bit.

“Need help with buddy appmon - scared of their inner self”

He took up this case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally picture Gatchmon having somnium files Aiba voice in this. And doing stuff like meowing at random, and stuff.


	3. Maki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dark past

Maki was in a supermarket when a vending machine she passed by glowed and displayed a message.

_ "Do you want to change? _

_ Yes/No" _

She answered Yes. From it, a appli drive, red in color, and with a " _ Pairing: Offmon _ " written on it appeared.

A chip soon followed after and found it’s way to her hand.

"I-I-I'm offmon, and I'm your buddy appmon. Please take care of me!"

A buddy huh.

“I’m not sure I’m the best to take care of you”

“But we were paired right? So it can’t be wrong? Can it?”

“I… Have a dark past, I’m not sure I deserve to have a buddy at all.”

“I… know all about it, Harukawa, we have been paired with  _ because  _ of it. I have a dark past as well… I can’t connect with others because of it. But I… Still want to change my future. I want to take over the reins of my life. But, as an appmon, I can’t do it alone. I’ll need you for that.”

_ So they have a dark past as well huh… Seems fair. _

Harukawa took the appli drive with her to her dorms, and Appliarized her buddy.

“So, how is it like being an appmon? Aren’t you supposed to be really social?”

“If I am to be honest, I... hate it. I can’t really connect with other appmon well, since I have that troublesome personality when I app fuse that scares others away. I… Kinda wish I was a regular digimon. Not depending on others to evolve seems so much more useful.”

“I see. We might be quite similar then”

Maki wasn’t sure how she was going to deal with her buddy, since it seemed to not want to leave the dorms at all. It seemed too scared to interact with others. 

Still, she feels kinda confortable near her buddy. They clearly trusted her, but only her, and was mostly a scared kid, and she couldn’t help but relate to it sometimes. 

They would talk about their past sometimes. 

It seems that her partner had managed to app-fuse with someone once, but the fusion was highly unstable, and rampaged and attacked everyone and everything.

The appmon still hears its voice sometimes, asking for him to destroy stuff, and this still haunts them a lot.

She would tell them bedtime stories, they would watch cartoons together, and have some talks about things they wished they could do. 

But, if things were to stay like this, only talking, never acting on it, neither of them would change, would they?

Maki might need to seek that _ Cyber sleuth _ for help someday. 

She heard they helped digimon with problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought Maki and Offmon would make an interesting dynamic and balance each other well, but it's still a bit soon for them to know that, they need to open up for other people a bit before that.


	4. Miu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry

Miu knew she would get the coolest partner digimon ever. She was sure of it. A genius like her needed to have a great partner as well. One day, as she was perfecting one of her instruments in her lab, she finally got her question, coming from that machine.

_ “Do you want to be unique? _

_ Yes/No” _

She pressed  _ Yes _ , without doubt.

Out of the machine came a goggle type digivice, and out of it jumped… that  _ thing _ .

“What the hell? Are you serious? Everybody get cool partners and I am stuck with a giant piece of  _ shit _ ? For the rest of my life?”

“Hey there, I am a no mere piece of shit! I am a  _ platinum  _ piece of turd. An unique and rare champion level digimon, one that is certain to boost the experience of whoever  _ lucky  _ enough to face it!”

“Wait,  _ you  _ are a  _ champion  _ level?

“Exactly, just so you know how blessed you are to have me as your partner. Oh, your goggles are cool, they fit well with my gloves. Can I have them? Since your digivice is a goggle type one?”

“ _ Hell no _ ! I’m gonna try and turn mine into a digivice cover, but, I  _ guess  _ you can have some other goggle of mine…”

Miu went to her box of spare parts, and got a goggle for the “ _ Platinum Turd _ ”

“It's kinda cool. You have great taste.”

“I have great taste? Well, I guess you must be one of the few to acknowledge my genius then.”

“Yeah, you’re certainly unique. That means that not many people will understand your true worth, and judge you by your appearance, just like with me.”

“I guess you got it bad as well…”

“But, I learned to deal with it, and accept myself better. I don’t need others to evolve after all.”

Miu and PlatinumSukamon then spent the afternoon talking about Miu’s inventions and such. PlatinumSukamon was actually really smart once you get to know them. They entered a few of Miu’s inventions that didn’t work and discovered their problems. She was really glad she was paired with PlatinumSukamon, because they surely were helping her without judgements.

She know a few people will judge her because of their appearance, but she wouldn’t mind anymore. She  _ will  _ go outside with her  _ Platinum piece of turd.  _ And feel no shame about it. Because already she got the coolest partner, so it’s only natural others envy her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought this pairing could be quite funny but also, I used to hate platinumsukamons but after cyber sleuth I feel bad if there aren't at least 2 in my team even if I don't need to boost my experience


	5. Angie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angie chats with her partner

Angie sat looking at her digivice, an _accel_ model. She was petting her partner with her other hand.

"Hey, remember how we met?"

"It was not like what we hear from most tamers right? I was being attacked by a bunch of rampaging digimon and near death, and you jumped in to try and save me"

"Then, I heard the question _"Do you wish to save this soul?"_ and I didn't hesitate before saying yes… But I thought that most partner digimon were created specifically for their tamer…"

"While people have this idea, it is actually wrong. Pairing is a process similar to what one would call soulmates in a way. It mostly means that these paired are meant to be together. Digimon usually analyze humans they feel affinity with long before they actually pair with one, to see if they actually make a nice match, that benefits both sides, but for us, it was… _different_."

"Yeah, I'm sure it was God that brought us together"

"It certainly sounds like a possibility. After all, you managed to find me, in that dark alley, just at the right time…"

"I heard a voice calling me then. Telling me to go there. I’m sure it was God's."

"Say, Angie, before meeting you I heard many people saying we don't have a soul, that we are mere programs… I used to hate people, and their religions… But, after meeting you, I’m not that sure. Do you think your God cares about digimon?"

"Of course they do! If they didn't, and you didn't have a soul, I wouldn't be able to save and reach you at all!"

"Thanks Angie… back then I was ready to die. I didn't have anything to believe in. And you saved me, made me stronger. I still don't know what to believe in, but I trust you. I guess it's only fair I help you in your evolution as well."

"I'm sure your next evolutions will be really divine too, Gatomon!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought that a Gatomon that was a bit nihilistic but starting to change their views after being partnered with Angie was a interesting concept.


	6. Ouma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regrets

They heard it was possible but it had never happened before. 

A corrupted evolution. It meant that the bonds between tamer and partner had been severed, and the partner went rogue.

Yet, Ouma was there, seeing as his partner digimon rampaged in fury, screamed in agony. His digivice was unresponsive, and glitched a lot.

"Dorumon! Dorumon! I'm sorry I tricked you all these times! I didn't mean to treat you so badly, I swear!"

Yet, the partner didn't hear him at all. Instead, it went to destroy another building.

Other tamers had been gathered. They were trying to stop further damage. But, no matter how many attacks they used, the digimon didn't seem to be purified at all. Instead, it seemed to start dying.

Ouma then jumped in front of his partner and hugged him. He was bitten. It hurt a lot, but Ouma didn't care. He kept hugging his partner. It was his fault they were like that. That that sweet digimon evolved into this.

"Please give me another chance! I promise I'll treat you properly this time!"

The digimon seemingly regained some sense, as it eventually stopped biting. But it was too late, as his body was already fading. Dorumon (or, it seemed, Death-x-DoruGreymon was the name of their corrupted form, according to others)

His digivice then showed him a question, different from the one that had paired him and Dorumon before:

_"Are you going to be the same?_

_Yes/No"_

Ouma replied _No_.

His D-Ark changed colors. The white parts turned to black, the purple part remained intact.

A digiegg appeared in front of him. It was the same egg he had seen when he had first been paired with Dorumon. He could only hope that it was the same digimon.

When he was first paired with Dorumon, his question was " _Do you want to play_?" and he replied _Yes_. He started by playing with the Dodomon that was born from the egg, but soon, Ouma started using them for tricks around the school and tricking them sometimes, to see their reactions. Dorumon always begged for his forgival, wondered what they did wrong, always obeyed him. But, eventually, Dorumon felt he had no connection with Ouma and snapped.

Ouma looked at the destroyed school. Mostly, the gymnasium, and most classes buildings. All of it, his fault. Because he treated his partner badly. And his partner died. And might not even be the same digimon that exists in this egg he holds now. 

He needed to change. And he was going to treat his partner the best way he could now.

Ouma was suspended from the school for two weeks. And he had to pay for the damage he caused, working at the construction. 

_Fair_.

He didn't complain this time. As he arrived at his dorm, the egg hatched.

The Dodomon inside it looked scared when they saw him.

They started crying.

Ouma did as well.

Maybe it is in fact the same soul as his first partner was.

If so, this reaction made complete sense.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Dorumon. You didn't deserve any of this. You didn’t deserve to die. You didn't deserve to be paired with me."

The Dodomon stopped crying.

Ouma then hugged them.

"I am going to treat you really well from now on, ok? Give you all the snacks you want, take you to the bathroom, comb your fur, pet you more…"

He spent the rest of the afternoon taking care of his partner.

They evolved into a Dorimon, and he heard his partners first words.

"I'm really glad you started changing"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wondered for a while if I should end this chapter with Ouma dealing with the loss of his partner, never really reaching their heart, but it felt too sad so I decided to end it with him receiving another chance. I also wondered if Ouma should have a Impmon but I felt that a digimon with the same nature as him would make for a really unhealthy combination and the growth for both of them would be kinda destructive.


	7. Keebo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A different type of partner.

Keebo had trouble ever since digimon were discovered. People often asked him, how could he be sure his AI wasn't a digimon in the end? Most robots had digimon behind them after all.  
His inner voice reassured him that that wasn't the case for him.  
One day, however, he found himself wondering what his inner voice actually was.  
He then heard a question.  
"Do you want to know me?"  
"Yes!" he said out loud before he could realize.  
Then a digivice of a model he had never seen before materialized. On it's visor, he could see a white digimon.  
"Hello Keebo! This is digivice is called a D-scanner. It works differently from other digivices, since there are only 10 of them. Each belongs to a legendary digimon spirit. I am the spirit of ice. Thanks to my nature, I can't materialize in your world, but I can temporarily lend my power to you, and you can turn into one of my forms to battle, if you need to."  
"A digimon? You were my inner voice?"  
"That's right. Call me Kumamon for now. I protect your body from viruses and other digimon that try to attack you. So then, I'm going to return to it."  
"Wait, answer me something before that. How can I be sure my AI isn't a digimon?"  
"Well. While extremely complex, your AI was fully built by an human. Digimon are lifeforms that weren’t created by humans. Most human AI’s are weak enough that they can easily be taken over by digimon, but yours has a similar complexity to that of a digimon. However, you do have some security breaches, and that is where I come in, to protect you."  
"Is… that a good thing? Not being a digimon?"  
"I can't answer that. You are yourself. Do you like being yourself?  
"I… guess I'm learning to"  
"Then that's good. If you want, I can help to permanently turn you into a digimon as well, but after being by your side for so long, I am sure that is not what you want."  
"Alright. Also thank you for your support and never leaving me alone!"  
"You're welcome."


	8. Kaito

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sidekick

Kaito arrived at his room and turned his star projector on.

As he was laying in his bed, he realized, something seemed off.

In his ceiling, he could read something.

_ "Do you want to go even farther than space? _

_ Yes/No" _

It seemed like a simple enough question. Kaito said  _ yes _ .

And, in front of him, popped a digimon, alongside a purple digivice, a d-cyber model. 

"Hello! I'm Lunamon! And I'm your partner from now on! Nice to meet you!"

"Lunamon? But you look so… hmm...  _ soft…  _ I kinda expected a  _ tougher  _ partner"

"Judging by appearances huh? Say, what do you think of terriermon?"

"They're different! Their evolutions got guns and stuff! They can fight really well."

"Still, just because it looks like it is stronger, it doesn't mean it is the case. Digimon have similar strength in their different evolution stages. You know marineangemon right?"

"Yeah, one of these works at the nursery"

"They are mega level digimon just so you know. As strong as a Zudomon for example"

"They’re mega level? I had no idea…."

"Anyway. I will prove to you I can be really strong. My goal is to become a Olympus member like my grandparents were, and you seemed the best possible partner for that."

"Wait, so you can become a  _ goddess _ ?"

"Something akin to what you humans would call that in the server I came from, yes. It depends on how well I chose my partner. Seems that nowadays, only those that surpasses their limits by pairing with worthy humans can be let in the olympus, since it is kinda full."

"Then count me in. You're my new sidekick right? So let's start training!"

"You want me to  _ train _ ?"

"There are training grounds here for digimon right? How else are you getting stronger? Let's start by doing 50 push ups and then I'll take you to the gym!"

Lunamon puffed her cheeks, then sighed, and did as told. It seemed that the digimon was not used to doing stuff that took much effort and struggled to finish the task and complained a lot, but it didn't give up until she did exactly the double of what Kaito asked her.

"Whoa, not bad for a rookie! Not bad at all! You sure seem to have a promising future, Lunamon!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought of pairing him up with a Firamon but the idea of him ending up with something... cuter... than he expected was really way more tempting.


	9. Ryoma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> alone

Ryoma was using his phone when his question first appeared.

_ "Do you want to be alone? _

_Yes/No_ "

He pressed _Yes_.

_"That is up for you to decide"_ appeared then.

A locked appli drive appeared from his phone, and alongside it, a chip. The chip then started floating towards him, and talked.

"Hello there. I'm Hackmon, a appmon specialized in hacking"

"Hacking huh? I don't really want to commit any more crimes"

"I have been paired with you for another reason. And it is because since both of us regret our crimes, both of us can understand each other better than anyone else."

"You regret your reason of existing? Wow, and I thought I got it bad"

"Not that. I fused with a offmon once, and, while we evolved, we weren't a quite nice match, so our evolution went rogue and we both were banned from the most popular appmon servers, what you call "surface web", only being allowed in the deeper layers of the network. Both of us received lots of hate in our lands. I am only allowed to go back there if I can prove to them I can evolve without rampaging myself"

"Oh. So having a buddy is your prison huh?"

"You could see it like that. Still, I see it as having a new chance. To change for the better, to learn what I can't by myself, know what went wrong and stuff. And I know you will need me as well."

"What makes you think so?"

"For one, I know you want a pet. Appmon are easy to take care of. You can take us to prison with you, since they can't really separate people from their digimon partners there. It sounds like tamers go to different prisons as well. Besides, just like appmon, you will need to deepen your bonds with other people while you can, so you can have a better chance of finding a reason to live. But I'd rather take you to a therapy as well, I can also find a way to provide that if you want"

"You had convinced me at pet honestly. You _are_ kinda cute. Are you really willing to go to prison with me? You know I'm at death row right? Think a therapist can fix that?"

"Not really. But I'll let you know that if we can evolve enough, the government would end up not being able to simply send you there. You know that tamers are rare right? And strong tamers even more. Most can only reach champion stage at most. If you are able to evolve me enough, they might give you another chance. According to my researches in the deep web, nobody has ever actually sent a tamer to death row, they try to rehabilitate them, make both of them fit for society. Sounds like they have no idea how partners would react to a tamer's forced death, and knowing how corrupted evolutions work, they don't want to risk the destruction at all. You probably are still going to prison, sure, but I am going there with you as well. And they'll analyze there if we're fit for society while we're here. Worst case scenario, we stay there forever."

"Alright then. So we can only try to get better, or then get stuck together forever, right?"

"Exactly."

Ryoma looked at his applidrive.

_ "Do you want to be alone?" _

Ryoma pressed _No_.

And his applidrive unlocked and turned into a deep shade of blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Appmon's Hackmon looks a bit like a cat if you ask me


	10. Gonta

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bugs

Gonta was helping in the insect digimon research lab when he saw a bunch of them gathering to attack a smaller one.

"Hey Friends! Please stop! Why are you attacking one of your own?"

"Beware her! She is not like us" shouted tentomon

"Yeah, she is a Dokunemon!" said the wormmon

"They are poisonous, unlike me!" blurted the Kunemon

"But there are many poisonous insects, and they all are really important to nature!"

"I heard they are the cause behind digimon rampages once!" the fanbeemon spoke

"Yeah! They are parasites, and need to be defeated!" said the puroromon 

"Even parasites are important to nature! Did you try speaking to her?"

"Huh? Why should we?" 

"You are all insect digimon right? Shouldn't insect digimon gather together, and help each other since many people hate them? Right dokunemon?"

Dokunemon was crying up to now, curling herself. She then started uncurling and asked

"Everywhere I go I'm treated like this, so I'm kinda used to it… I guess it's already set in stone for me to die alone or to have a dangerous evolution… To have no friends…"

"Well, they are wrong! A true gentleman would never treat anyone like that! I want to know you and be your friend Dokunemon! I won't let you be alone!" Gonta said with a smile.

Dokunemon started glowing then. 

"Wait, are you dying? Please don't, Dokunemon!"

A digivice then appeared in front of Gonta, with " _ Do you want to be my friend? _

_ Yes/No _ " displayed on it.

Gonta replied  _ Yes _ .

The digivice gained a dark green accent, as dokunemon evolved into a Dokugumon

"Hey, no fair! I wanted to be Gonta's partner!"

"Me too!"

The insect digimon complaints were heard for quite a while.

"Thank you for trusting me." Dokugumon said as she smiled.

"It is no big deal, friend!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It is hard choosing an insect partner for Gonta, they all love him!


	11. cyber sleuthing(?)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> explanations. And just having fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This works as a sequel to Maki's chapter!

"Saihara? You're the _ cyber sleuth _ ?"

"Yeah."

"Honestly, makes some sense. You know why I'm here right?"

"Yeah, the case. Your buddy appmon doesn't want to leave your room?"

"Yeah. And they seem scared about evolving as well. Seems that when they did in the past, things went horribly wrong"

"Oh. A few weeks ago something similar happened in our school as well..." Saihara commented.

"The corrupted evolution… still, seems a bit different. Seemed like neither of the appmon involved had any buddies at the time"

"Yeah, it would be more usual if the fusion failed and the result was a Sukasimon or something" Gatchmon blurted out

"Anyway. Can you help me?"

"Sure! We applidrivers need to help each other! I'm gonna call some appli drivers from our class and some appmon we befriended as well to help us right? So we can show them different links and that not all links are bad"

"I'm not sure if they'll get near anywhere they sense other appmon…"

"We're going to your dorms, don't worry!"

Maki was worried. 

_ That  _ was something she didn't want either. 

Still, Offmon needed help…

_ It’s for Offmon… _

"Alright."

Later that night, Maki was tidying her room up for the visits.

"Hey, why are you cleaning your room today? It’s not cleaning day yet."

"I'm gonna receive some visits today."

"Someone is visiting you? Who?"

"A few classmates. I already told them I got a buddy, so don't worry about that. They want to meet you as well. I'd like if you tried to talk to them a bit, give them a chance, but if you don't feel like it don't worry, you can hide after a bit."

"Ok then."

She heard knocks on her door.

"I think they arrived."

"Yeah, I'll open the door."

Maki could see Kaede, Shuichi, and a few appmon near them.

"I tried to get Ryoma too but after hearing about our situation he said that it was probably best his buddy didn't interact with yours for now"

"Alright. No problem. I think one more person and appmon would have been too much for us to handle as well."

"Oh, hey, you're Offmon right! You are so cute! I have wanted to know you for ages! Call me Kaede!"

"And I'm her buddy, Musimon. I can hear a beautiful song coming from your heart, Offmon!"

"I'm Perorimon, I'm a friend of hers. Kaede promised me snacks if I came"

"Perorimon!"

"Oops, my bad."

"Please call me Shuichi! And this here is"

"His amazing buddy, Gatchmon!"

"I'm Navimon, a friend of theirs."

And that seems to be all of them. 2 people, 4 digimon. With Maki and offmon that would make… 8 people to enter her room. If appmon didn't have chip forms that would be so  _ cramped _ .

An appmon chip then materializes from Maki's smartphone.

"I guess I'm the only one left right? I'm Onmon! I have been following you around because it seemed fun, and now seemed to be a good time to introduce myself!"

_ Make that 9 then. _

"I guess one more is no problem right? 8, 9, not much of a change" Maki muttered.

"Yeah, the more the merrier!" Musimon sang.

"Oh yeah, we brought some snacks!" Kaede spoke gently.

"Offmon, I hope you're ready to taste the most amazing candy ever created by mankind, the gatchimonaka!!" Gatchmon pratically shouted.

Offmon was still hiding behind Maki, but seemed curious about it.

"Alright Offmon. No need to worry, I'll keep you safe. Shuichi and Kaede are trustworthy and I'm sure their partners are as well."

Offmon then ran towards gatchmon, and tasted a bit of the candy.

"It's really yummy!"

"See! Told ya!"

Offmon then kept eating and trying the snacks Kaede and Shuichu brought, while Onmon then headed towards Maki's ears.

"Hey, I need to talk to you about Offmon"

"Huh?"

"I saw what actually happened back there. I was there, as a Bootmon, a supreme grade appmon that was responsible for booting servers up. That's why he didn't recognize me by the way. And even then, I failed to recognize what went wrong. So I've given up on my evolutions for now and returned to my weakest form, to learn new things. I have searched about it for a long while. I've been trying to track them for ages. I found the Hackmon, and thankfully he seems to have recovered a bit thanks to his partner, but offmon… seems to have been hit hard."

"Is that why you were in my phone? You think that I'll trust you that easily?"

"I was analyzing if it was the same offmon, I swear I didn't check anything else! And it's up to you to decide if you trust me or not. I am even going to give you my chip and a chip of my supreme form so you know I'm not lying, alright? But please hide that chip until you need it. The most your classmates have ever seen is a super grade appmon, you don't want to catch their attention as well."

Onmon really did materialize his chip and a supreme grade chip in Maki's applidrive. But it was… fully grey.

"Alright, so you might be saying the truth but why is it greyed out?"

"Until you unlock Offmon's supreme grade you won't be able to use my supreme grade chip at all. Anyway, I have finally learned what went wrong, Hackmon has as well."

"Makes sense. So. What was it?"

"Offmon actually has a impressive evolution line that clashes up with mine in power. We are both, some of the most powerful appmon that exist. While I'm supposed to turn things on, they turn things off. And if I boot programs, they shut them down. Complimentary beings. We need each other to exist. But my presence, being near them in supreme grade, seemed to cause a inbalance. The server couldn't handle both of us at the same time. Seems like we need tamers to fully control our powers."

"That sounds like a solid theory, but what about the voice they hear?"

"That's probably a traumatic experience, and I can only hope we can help them dealing with that. It will take some time to heal. It is kinda my fault honestly, so I hope to make up to it…"

Offmon was still eating with Gatchmon and Perorimon, when Maki appliarized Onmon as well.

"He said he wanted to eat too"

"Well, there's enough for everyone here, but hurry up before Perorimon eats everything!"

"Kaede, you know I'm not that gluttonous! I'm a  _ gourmet _ , it's different!"

"Yeah, each bite you say every single ingredient that goes in the food and how they compliment each other right? And you speak about it's appearance for 30 minutes before you actually eat it…" Kaede teased.

"Oh. I counted it and it took only 5 minutes this time!"

"Thank you Navimon. It's nice to know  _ someone  _ here has manners at least." Perorimon blurted

Maki snorted. For a long time in ages, she was actually having fun. She knows it won't last much but she appreciates it a bit.

But maybe. She can change her future right? That's the question she got with her appli drive. Having two powerful appmon by her side meant that maybe she could try and save the orphanage in another way? If she could appliarize both of them and save the kids or something, or get appmon to help her expose the assassin training scheme behind it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are a few partners that I didn't quite manage to find nice ideas to incorporate even in a short story, like Kaede and Musimon so I'll be trying to put some of them in the next few chapters. There are going to be 2 more chapters, a bit more complex than the others after this.


	12. Tenko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> left out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as a warning, there is mention of an animal's death in this chapter but the chapter ends in a better tone.

Tenko was feeling left out. Every single one of her classmates had a partner or buddy by now, barring her and Himiko. And, most times, whoever got a partner/buddy ended up spending more time with them, training them or putting them in fights in the arena, mostly interacting with other people that had partners. And they had free passes to get out of classes in cases of rampaging digimon.

The first few ones to get partners were Ouma and Kaito, with Dorumon and Lunamon. Then, lots of people in her class started appearing with digimon by their side. There was Rantaro and the trusty Terriermon. Shuichi got an buddy appmon, Gatchmon. Kaede got her buddy soon after as well, a Musimon. Miu appeared with PlatinumSukamon... Thankfully, her partner was quite polite. Angie and Gatomon. Gonta, with Dokugumon. All champion level digimon, in less than a week near each other. Kirumi showed up with Renamon soon after. Ryoma and Hackmon... And Tsumugi with her seemingly always tired Phascomon, sleeping in her head. Maki then appeared to have gotten closer to Shuichi and Kaede, thanks to having been paired with an Offmon, but Tenko has no idea when she actually was paired with it. Keebo then turned into a digimon one day. It seems their partner digimon was of a different type from the rest. Legendary spirit? Or something of the like. The only person that was known so far with one of these. The last one of the bunch to show up with a partner was Korekiyo. He appeared one day with a Syakomon following him. It wasn’t clear what bonded them for Tenko, since Syakomon often made jokes about Kiyo himself. But maybe that made him open up a bit more? He seemed happier near his partner. Like he was in a shell before. Nobody in her class so far seemed to have gotten a Xros partner, but it seemed people in other classes did. She knew Ibuki had been paired up with a Shoutmon, and Akane with a Gumdramon.

Still, everybody else in her class but she and Himiko had got partners, and that made them feel they didn’t belong in the class, since they were mostly promoting events and parties that would be much more interesting with a partner, like the “Partner meet and greet” the class would promote every time anyone got a partner, since the partners were becoming integral part of their class as well, so people felt it was unfair if there was a partner nobody knew anything about.

Tenko still had her aikido training to go and that eased her most times, but even them, while she loved training digimon venturing in aikido as well. There was this adorable Lopmon that trained hard every day and recently evolved into a Turuiemon! And there was a Mikemon that trained a lot with her lately too. She was slowly becoming friends with them surely. There was also a Leomon that often visited the temple, but she never got much close to him, after all, even if a digimon he was a _degenerate_.

Her master said to her that not everyone can become a tamer, that they are rare, and that she shouldn’t feel bad about that, but she couldn’t help but to want a partner of her own.

She missed talking with her old friends. 

And after evolving, Turuiemon had appeared way less in the temple, while Mikemon appeared in a weird pattern; Showed up for a whole week, and disappeared for two. Truly a mysterious digimon. 

At least, a partner digimon was a friend for life.

Lately, even Himiko seemed to get progressively more distant to Tenko. She seemed to go have went out of her way to avoid her completely this past week.

Tenko tried to ask if it was her fault, if she did anything wrong but the mage simply

blurted out she didn’t want to see her anymore. Tenko ran away, crying. 

She felt so alone.

She got lost amidst her running. She had no idea where she was. She then saw a dog running somewhere. She followed it. Because the dog remembered her of her childhood pet, Matcha. 

Matcha was a Shiba Inu, who would always wait for Tenko in front of the house, and they would play together for a long times. Whenever she cried, Matcha would lick her tears, when she got bruises he’d lick them as well. It always made her feel better. 

She liked giving him bread, even if her parents said she shouldn't, since he had really funny reactions when he ate it. 

But, one day, Tenko was attacked by a snake and Matcha jumped in to protect her.

She still missed Matcha so much. 

It didn’t feel fair for her. 

She’d rather be attacked by the snake than lose Matcha.

Tenko couldn't wait for the day she got her partner digimon. 

This way she would have a lifelong partner like that right? She’d never feel alone again.

She hoped it was a Renamon like Kirumi’s, a Tailmon like Angie’s, maybe a Turuiemon, Lunamon, or who knows, a Mikemon. 

They were cute, feminine, and had really pretty evolutions.

As she followed the dog, however, she found herself in front of a arcade. But the dog was nowhere to be seen. 

She went to the test your strength machine.

It was weirdly alone, for something that was glowing so much. 

The machine digital text then changed, and asked her a question.

From what she heard, that meant that a digimon was paired with her soul.

But, the question displayed was

_"Is there someone or something you want to protect so much you'd give your life for?_

_Yes/No"_

That was certainly a hard question to answer. And kinda ominous.

Two possible answers. And also a timer.

30 seconds.

She wasn't sure she wanted to answer that. It didn’t seem like a fair question.

The timer reached 0.

The machine text then changed to _  
__“This is a question you don't need to find an answer to right now.”_

And a digivice and an egg materialized in front of her. The digivice was grey, the question still displayed on it. It seemed to be a iC type digivice so it was likely she needed to send a bit of her own digisoul to her partner so they would be able to evolve.

Tenko looked around.

 _Weird_.

This looks like a regular snack shop. The one that is run by the Burgermon family… It was fairly close to Hope’s Peak Academy, and became a regular stop for it’s students. Tenko went to her dorms. She was curious on what digimon she could have been paired with, but still scared of the implications in her question.

When she arrived in her room, the egg hatched.

Out of it, a Punimon had appeared. 

Many digimon were born from Punimon, so Tenko had no Idea what would come from it.

_What am I supposed to do at these times? Oh, it could be hungry perhaps?_

She tried to feed it something. 

She heard digimon liked meat right? Or was it carrot? Did she need to cook them? She searched her phone.

"You can use your digivice to feed digimon but you can also feed them meat, vegetables, baked goods… Pretty much anything. Be aware each digimon has their food preferences, so while some love coffee some hate them"

She still wasn’t sure. None of the articles mentioned if she needed to cook vegetables and meat before feeding digimon either. She tried messaging Turuiemon.

“I don’t know why you asked me, but baby digimon usually like bread? And sweets.”

 _Alright_.

She didn't want to risk much so she fed it with a sandwich. 

It jumped a bit, seemed really happy. She then tried petting it. It was really soft, but then...

It pooped on her bed.

She sighed. 

It _is_ a _baby_ digimon after all. 

And since they still didn’t finish pairing, she couldn’t get messages on her digivice that signaled if it needed to go to the bathroom.

She cleaned the mess.

She spent the rest of the day trying to take care of it. 

After a few hours, it evolved. 

A Wanyamon uh. 

These are really cute but can still evolve into many things so Tenko had no clue what it could be. 

People say at this stage, digimon can get really talkative, and while kinda smart, they still aren’t as bright as in their rookie form, where they show their true selves fully. 

Tenko awaited for what would be it’s first words.

"Master"

"Huh?" How did they know this word? 

Tenko knew digimon could be really smart, but… Master was a word that meant a lot to Tenko. She had a Master that meant the world to her the temple.

"I can feel you’re kinda sad. Why? Did I do anything wrong?"

Tenko teared up a bit. 

It seemed her possible partner had a really sweet personality after all.

"No, no. I just… had a fight with my best friend… Now I'm not even sure we are friends anymore… I felt really alone, so I'm really glad you're here!"

"Ohh, that’s it? Please don't cry, I'll be your friend from now on and I promise I'll do my best to protect you!" the digimon said as they jumped up a bit and blowed some bubbles to cheer her up, and started nuzzling in her belly.

"But. Why did you fight your friend for?"

"I… Have no idea. She said she didn’t want to see me anymore."

"Why? Did you do anything wrong?"

"I have no idea. She didn’t say anything… And I feel I’m slowly drifting away from my older friends as well, because all of them have partners now… I feel like I’m slowly losing everything"

"It's going to be alright! I'm by your side now right? So you didn't lose everything! You won't be alone!"

She spent her next few days by their side, talking to them sometimes, keeping them in her dorm, taking them many snacks, since the establishments that were not fully run by digimon or made to research them, which included her dojo, would only allow rookie and champion level digimon because they were smart enough to take care of themselves and not cause much trouble, while still mostly had a reasonable size. Wanyamon would always wait for her on front of her door, receive her while jumping around, blowing bubbles and saying “Master, You’re back! I missed you a lot!”

Still, even if it was expressive at these times, her partner was mostly… Silent. Only really spoke when they felt the need to.

She felt bad she still hadn't answered her question so she could end their pairing and take them freely with her in her digivice. 

And not answering probably meant that was why they were locked in this form, since she heard that digimon usually evolve to their child form in three days at max after they’re born.

But one day, after a week since they were paired, when she arrived, Wanyamon looked weird. And was trembling.

"We need to go out. Now."

She couldn't say no to that. And she felt in its eyes the seriousness. Something was wrong.

She took them under her arm, locked her door and ran with them in her arms.

"Um, where do you want to go?"

"I feel something weird. Follow me."

Huh? 

The digimon jumped from her arm and started jumping forwards really quickly, Tenko followed them. 

It left Hope’s peak academy, and they then arrived at the snacks store Tenko remembers waking up in the day she got her question. Things seemed normal but as… _Yumeno..._ ran out of it, Tenko could feel something was off. It seemed some of the Burgermon working there had been infected with a virus, since they were attacking her.

Tenko hurried to help. But, as she tried to disperse the burgermon, she realized she couldn't even touch them at all, even if their attacks did hurt her. She then hugged Yumeno in hopes she could at least protect her with her body, even if Yumeno might hate her even more for it. 

But Yumeno didn’t seem to complain, and even hugged her back, tighter.

Wanyamon, however, still tried their best. They threw themselves in Tenko's front, and tried desperately doing everything they could to calm the rampaging digimon. 

But the only thing they could do was shooting up bubbles and throw itself at the enemies, since it was a baby digimon after all.

It was hopeless.

And there were too many enemies.

Once it took way too many hits, it's body was beginning to glow weirdly and disappear. 

Tenko was scared. 

That is how a digimon tends to look like before they die. And not all digimon can have another life as a digiegg, some just. Disappear. If their enemies try to eat their data.

She was going to lose her partner. 

"Please stop! We can wait until another tamer appears and solves this situation! You're going to die!"

"But I need to protect you and those you care about! I'd rather die than let you get hurt!"

Oh.

Maybe this digimon was just like her after all.

She herself would give her life now if it meant Yumeno and them were going to be safe.

She then looked at her digivice.

_"Is there someone or something you want to protect so much you'd give your life for?"_

She pressed _Yes_. 

Her digivice changed to a mint color, and Wanyamon evolved. Her partner was… a dog. 

It… Looked so much like Matcha. Now that she thinks about it.

Even just now, giving away his life, to protect her. 

She heard of some animals turning into digimon after they died right? Some weird things nobody could explain, since it was still unknown what made a digimon be born. Sometimes they came from eggs that ultimate and mega level digimon could produce. Sometimes objects that were loved enough turned into digimon as well. Some say partner digimon are attracted to people due to strong bonds - or possibilities of forming then. Even then, nobody knows what creates the digivices. Partner digimon themselves don't know. They just wish to have that bond, and sometimes, their wish is listened to. Something allows them to send their question to their possible partner. Many digimon try to send questions, but many of these questions don't ever reach anyone, even if they do, they might still not get partnered. But it seems that, if the question reaches their possible partners heart, a digivice appears, even if they didn't answer the question correctly.

Maybe a pre-existent bond… A strong wish from a human, could attract a partner as well?

"Rolling upper!" she heard the dog shout, as it attacked the other digimon. 

It was a really cool scene. 

The dog managed to take all of the burgermon down with a single attack.

Once they woke up, they seemed to have regained their senses and apologized profusely.

“We’re going to give you all some snacks to apologize for causing you all this trouble, please don’t stop visiting us!”

"Tenko!” The dog spoke ” You seem to be safe now, I am glad I was useful. I really missed you you know?"

"Matcha, is that you? Thank you for saving us!"

“That’s right. My bond with you as well as your wish to find me has allowed me to turn into a Gaomon, and become your partner”

Tenko was crying. She couldn’t believe it. She tackled Matcha.

“Matchaaa, I missed you soooooooo muuuuuchh! I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to see you again”

"Nyeeh, I’m still here you know?"

Oh. She didn't realize but Yumeno was caught in the middle of her tackle and all of them were in the ground.

"Oh! Yumeno, I'm so sorry for everything. Are you alright?"

"I guess I am. Thanks for saving me... Chabashira, Matcha. But, I didn't expect you of all people to have a male partner. Thought you’d call him a _degenerate_ for sure"

“Matcha is no _degenerate_! Matcha is Tenko’s beloved loyal dog! He died to protect Tenko once! Tenko always wished she could see Matcha again!”

The Gaomon nodded.

"Ever since I was a dog I had always wished I could talk to you and I'm so glad I got to, Master. And I am ready to do whatever it takes to protect you!"

Tenko couldn't stop hugging Matcha.

"Oh. I think you'll make a nice match. Your seriousness might balance her a bit more. You're quite cute too." Yumeno joked.

"Me? Cute? I'm a ferocious beast! A cool fighter! I'm not cute!"

"Wow, you even react in the opposite way to her and my buddy when being called that... Anyway, I went here for snacks and it seems we can get some for free. I think we should celebrate your new partner right Tenko?"

"Wait, you have a buddy? If so, why didn't you get their help?"

"Oh that… I… Forgot them home"

"Who even forgets their partner?" Matcha said completely shocked.

"I guess it's only fair I show them to you huh. I think you might be the best person to help me deal with it after all. And I… need to have a talk with you after all, apologize for some stuff... Alright, after grabbing some snacks I'll let you know him"

Tenko was so happy at this moment.

She finally had her partner digimon, who was _Matcha_! Her beloved dog! The wait was worth it!

And she might not have lost her friendship with Yumeno after all since was even going to meet her buddy.

She can't wait to see how they're like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually started writing this fic by this chapter, I wanted to do a story of a animal that came back as a digimon, thanks to a certain case in a digimon game. The question is inspired by a question someone got before being paired with their partner in appmon and I always felt it was ominous until everything made sense in the end. I tried putting references to some episodes of digimon I liked a lot in this chapter.  
> I chose Tenko for this mix because I felt this plotline would mix with her v3 character better.  
> Matcha is a name I picked up after some Danganronpa v3 Tenko themed desserts that had it as a flavor.


	13. Himiko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trying new stuff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! I'm going to focus on some other work I have for now.  
> There's some implied TenMiko in this but it isn't the main focus of the chapter nor is confirmed by the end.

It was a quiet day when Himiko found a question in her handheld console.

 _"Do you_ _want to see smiles?_

 _Yes/No_ "

When she got her question she didn't even hesitate before answering. 

She did want to see people smiling.

She got an appli drive model she had never seen before. It had a burgundy color on one half and a silver part on its second half. It also seemed to have red part in the bottom she didn’t see in her other friend’s appli drive. 

But the partner she got was not what she expected at all. 

It was loud, noisy, and at first, completely fawned over her, it was like Tenko but ten times more intense. Eventually, he seemed to calm down a bit and tried to talk to her.

“Himiko! I am your biggest fan in the whole world, Dokamon! I know you have trouble sorting your feelings out and connecting and I’m here to help you with it! I know you know you had crushes on Saihara and Ouma before, but Saihara has Kaede now and Ouma isn’t into women so you lost interest on them, but right now all you can think about are Angie and Tenko right?”

_What?_

“Hey how do you even-”

“That’s because you also are crushing on them! Really intensely!”

“ _WHAT_ ! I-I don’t even like Chabashira that much… I _think_... And I’m becoming more distant from Angie since she spends most of the time with her partner...”

“Don’t lie to yourself! I know she has grown a lot on you lately, since she protects you whenever people from other classes bully you because you both had no partners! I know how happy you feel when you see her smile! And Angie’s smile warms you up a lot as well!”

“Still, I’m… Into boys! And I think they aren’t into girls as well, I asked Chabashira about it sometime around when we first met if she swinged that way and she said her feelings for me weren’t like that as well...”

“Well, then you both are lying about your feelings! First of all, nothing stops you for liking both you know? And it’s important to try everything to know your preferences! The boys you had crush on are either in relationships already or not into and I confess I don’t understand Angie much, if she’s , but my bet is that there’s no way Tenko isn’t into girls, so maybe you have a chance with her…”

“I am _not_ lying! Also I’m sure she sees me as a friend and friend only!”

“If you are getting so worked up about that, then I’m sure there’s something here you need to admit you know? Why does that idea scare you that much?”

_He had a point. Damn._

“Still, my goal is to become a mage! And bring smiles! I don’t want to stray away from that.”

“And you are already the greatest mage ever! And I’m sure you will bring even more smiles if you can smile more often yourself! If you try new things! As your biggest fan I want to see you put in a show with your biggest smile ever!”

“Nyeh. It’s not like high school relationships work anyway, most don’t last much…”

“I don’t think any relationship will work or last much if you go with this mindset you know? You need to try, to see if they work or not...“

“I guess… but still… It’s… hard… It’s easier to let things stay the same.”

“I know you have troubles trusting and connecting with others because of… your master, but! I am going to be by your side forever now! There’s nothing wrong with trying new things! You were paired with an appmon! That means you will grow more by trying to connect with all sorts of people, and I’m here to help you with that! Not all these connections will be good, some of them might make you angry or sad, but all of them are going to be really important for your evolution, to be able to have the best smiles ever!”

“But… are connections that might not work at all even worth trying?”

“They surely are! Being honest with yourself and others is essential! Bottling things up is bad you know? You have a lot buried in your heart, that you need to let out before it harms you more...”

She sighed. There was no way she was going to change his mindset. She then looked at her applidrive. “ _Pairing: Dokamon_ ” huh...

“Hey, why does my appli drive look like this?”

“It is a Appli drive Duo! It means that you can lend me your own strength to make me stronger! A bit like iC type digivices. It is a really rare model you know? Other appli drive models can only sustain higher grade appmon for 60 seconds. Yours has no limit at all! That we were blessed with it must mean our connection is very strong!”

A rare appli drive huh. Still. Himiko isn’t sure she wants to deal with that right now.

She wants to deal with none of that. But she needs to find an excuse to try and keep things as they were, pretend she didn’t hear any of this.

“Hey Dokamon, I need to study a bit now, so, in order to concentrate I’m gonna keep you in a box ok?”

Dokamon then looked a bit sad for some seconds. She felt bad about it.

But then he smiled.

“All right. Come back to me when you’re ready, ok? I’ll wait!”

She put him inside a box and them put many and many more boxes over it and hid them under her bed. She was ready to pretend to not have ever had a partner. Ready to ignore it forever.

She went to school the next day. It was hard seeing Angie and Chabashira after her talk with Dokamon. Now that she thinks about it, they looked specially... _pretty_.

_Oh no._

Maybe he was _right_.

Himiko then tried doing what she was best at. Running away from what she doesn’t want to deal with. Angie was kinda easy, since she had been very busy ever since she got her partner but Chabashira…

Only really had her. She was the only one in the class with no digimon partner.

And she couldn’t really face Chabashira anymore. Because she now had a buddy and didn’t know how long she would be able to face Chabashira as if she didn’t, and because she didn’t want to think about her feelings as well.

So she made up lots of excuses to avoid her. She entered the first club she saw was recruiting, and it was… 

Korekiyo and Rantaro’s hiking group. Apparently, digimon loved knowing more about the human world and they loved climbing, because besides them, there were only digimon in the group. Terriermon and Syakomon, their partners, were really enthusiastic about the trips so it was really cute watching them gush about what they wanted to see. Besides them there was a Kotemon an a Cameramon that seemed to be partners of some people from class 77-B, and some enthusiastic digimon that had no partners but liked hiking, like a Gabumon and a Ballistamon.

Himiko hated hiking at first but, once she found a comfortable pace that didn't tire her as much, she had to admit that viewing the sceneries was kinda cool.

She ended up looking forwards to their next hiking trip, still, she felt alone.... Maybe she should invite her…

 _No_ , _you entered this to avoid her!_

She was in her room. She peeked through her bed, the box still tucked inside it.

_Should I appliarize him?_

Still, he reminds her a lot of Tenko and would probably keep talking to her about her _feelings_ or something.

The next few days, thanks to the group, she didn’t see Tenko at all.

Until she appeared one day, asking her if she did anything wrong. It hurt Himiko a lot, but she didn’t know what to say and blurted out she didn’t want to see her anymore.

Tenko ran off, crying. Himiko hated that feeling.

_I… Ruined everything… She didn’t deserve this._

The next week, Tenko didn’t try to talk to Himiko even once. 

_I.. Guess after that, it’s only fair..._

Himiko wanted to talk to Dokamon, but the idea of facing him after this made Himiko feel bad.

One day, when Himiko went to buy some snacks, she was attacked by some rampaging Burgermon.

At first she ran, but once she was cornered, she gave up.

If I hadn’t treated him like that… I could have him there to protect me.

Before she could even realize, Chabashira was there, following after a cat digimon.

She tried to protect her, but she couldn’t touch digimon at all.

_After all, the only digimon you can touch are ones that have partners..._

Still, Tenko hugged her. She was using her own body as a shield. Even after everything Himiko said.

Himiko felt terrible. She could only hug her back. She _really_ needed to apologize to her..

Still, the situation seemed to come to an quick end, with Tenko having been paired with a Gaomon.

Seeing their bond, she remembered of her buddy at her dorms and felt bad…

She even promised to let them know her buddy in a whim.

However, as she walked to her dorms with Tenko she couldn't help but feel anxious.

None of them were speaking anything. It was a uncomfortable silence until Tenko finally spoke.

"But, why did you say you didn't want to see me anymore?"

"That… I didn't want you to feel left out after I got my buddy, and I didn't want to tell you about it. To be the only person in class without a partner you know? I didn't care much about getting one but you seemed to care a lot. I felt it was really unfair that I got a partner before you.. Sorry, didn’t know how to act" That was not a lie, but still wasn’t the full truth. But should work for now.

"I see… Thanks for caring about me!" Tenko said with a cute smile.

"I-it's not like I care about you or anything!" Himiko stuttered a bit but she could feel her cheeks hot up a bit.

“Oh. Right.”

Another uncomfortable silence followed. 

Himiko then tried to pick up a conversation subject.

"Tenko, what would you do if you got a partner you didn't like? I mean, at all?" Oh no, she called her by her first name...

"Hm, I guess it would be better to try to break up or something if there’s no way to work around the differences.”

“A _digimon_ partner I mean”

“Oh, _that_! Digimon partners are linked to your soul right? So there can't be wrong matches in this. They are meant to help you evolve, and you are meant to help them evolve as well. And they always ask a question before you're actually paired with them."

"Yeah I guess. What was your question?"

"Oh. That. It was _"Is there someone or something you want to protect so much you'd give your life for?"_ and I took quite a while to answer it. But, as I was hugging you and risking losing his life as well, I decided that there actually _was…_."

Himiko could feel her cheeks burn at that. 

Tenko was willing to give her life for her? She liked her that much? Even after what she had said to her a few weeks ago?

Still, that question seemed so much harder than Himiko's. 

She took quite a while thinking about it before answering. 

Himiko had just answered hers on a whim. 

The way she treated her partner was selfish, just like how she treated Tenko until a while ago. 

Trying to push away, run off, ignore, just because she didn't want to deal with it. Because it took so much effort…

“That sounds... ominous…”

“Yeah…”

“Still, don’t you think that some pairings may be bad? Since there can be corrupted evolutions and all?”

“Hm. A partnership needs to have effort on both sides to work right? Digimon partnerships are like that. Usually, digimon are way more willing to do their part, they change rather quickly. People take more time to evolve. What happened with Ouma was that he took too long to realize his partner stopped liking his pranks, and didn’t find them fun anymore, but in the end, Ouma did evolve right? He changed the style of pranks he does, found some balance and they both seem to have lots of fun now. I can’t say their pairing was wrong. He now can even evolve them to Dorugreymon, first one in our class to reach the Ultimate level! Not bad for a degenerate. Everyone in our class that has a partner did change a lot and they all seem happier about it.”

“I guess you’re right. Even Maki and Kiyo have opened up way more…” 

“Yeah! They’re almost totally different people now.”

They arrived at her dorms.

"All right, get ready, you might want to shut your ears a bit."

She then grabbed the box.

And opened it.

And took a smaller box inside it.

After the 20th box Tenko asked something

"Um, are we near the end or…"

"For how long have you kept your partner inside this? It's cruel!" Matcha spoke.

"I guess… two weeks? Maybe more. Ever since I got the digivice…."

"So you didn't try to bond with him at all? Even give a chance?" Matcha barked again.

"They reminded me of someone I didn't want to deal with at the time ok!"

After she opened the 66th box, the digivice was finally here.

"Hello Himiko! I’m glad you finally feel ready to see me again!" it shouted really loudly "I missed you a lot! Did you take care of yourself? Did you get in danger? Are you sleeping alright?"

"Your partner doesn’t seem that bad for a _degenerate_."

"I am not a degenerate! I am Dokamon, Himiko's number one fan! She is the best mage in the world, the cutest, most amazing person ever!"

"I guess you do have a nice taste. Then, let's see how much you actually know about her!"

Tenko and Dokamon kept rambling about Himiko, Matcha went to talk to Himiko.

"Hey"

"Nyeh?"

"You didn't say it, but you avoided him because he reminds you of Master right?"

"How did you… notice that?"

"It was kinda obvious."

Wow, it must be _pretty_ obvious if a digimon that barely knows her noticed that. She was glad Tenko didn’t point this out if she realized.

"Hey, do you hate Master?"

"Huh? No! Why would I?"

"Because ever since I have been by her side Master had been saying this a lot.” 

Oh. So she did feel bad about it.

“Oh. My bad. I guess I wasn’t the best friend...”

She then looked at Tenko and Dokamon. 

“Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask you this! Are you into girls?” Dokamon practically shouted.

Himiko then hurried up to try and shut him up, but since he was in chip form, it was no use. If she had appliarized him, she could probably do something by now.

“Huh?” Was all Tenko said as Himiko picked up Dokamon’s chip and appliarized him. She then hugged him and tried to shut his mouth.

“There’s no way Master isn’t.” Was all Matcha said.

“Matcha!” Tenko hurried and tried to stop him from talking as well.

It kinda was a funny scene. Both teens were practically red, and hiding themselves in their blue partners. 

There was an uncomfortable long silence, with only Dokamon’s muffled ramblings as ground noise.

“Yumeno! Your appli drive looks really neat!” Tenko tried to change subjects, thankfully.

“Yeah right? It seems to be a duo model. Seems it works kinda like iC model digivices, in which the tamer sends their energy to their partners…”

“What question did you get?”

“It was “ _Do you_ _want to see smiles?”_

“It fits you really well! Being a mage and all.”

That softened Himiko up and she went to pull her hat down so Tenko wouldn’t see her face blush much.

What a mistake. She accidentally released Dokamon’s mouth.

“Yeah! And the smile she wants to see the most right now is-” Thankfully, she managed to shut him up before he could finish it.

“Hey, I need to talk with Dokamon a bit alright?”

“Right, I need to talk a bit with Matcha as well.”

Himiko then took Dokamon to her bathroom.

“Dokamon! Don’t go asking things like these or blurting out anything that might reveal my feelings to others!” She whispered

“But, I didn’t do it right? I just wanted to say that her smile was the one you want to see the most right now, and that is no lie nor exactly reveals your feelings for her are more than platonic right? It can still be read as a friendship thing!” Dokamon replied whispering as well.

“But still, it made me uncomfortable! And you kinda outed her, that must have felt really uncomfortable… Not everyone likes that you know?”

“Oh. I’m… very sorry. I didn’t realize humans had problems with that… Alright, I’ll keep quiet from now on and listen to you more!”

“And um. Sorry for locking you in that box.”

“Don’t worry. I already knew you were going to do it. I knew I overstepped my boundaries and was too forceful back then and knew that it would take a long time until you felt ready to see me again.” 

“You knew?”

“Yeah. But don’t worry! I used all that time to think about your point of view as well. We need to be a team right? I can’t reach higher stages by myself, I need your help for that. And, if you don’t feel ready to start a relationship, then you don’t need to! You’re a human after all, not an appmon. Take all the time you need! I’m going to support you the best way I can, regardless of what you want! You have your own pace! I’m here to help you evolve after all!”

“Then, why did you ask her that? It wasn’t to see if I had a chance?”

“I just wanted to know if my feeling was right since my instincts rarely fail, but now I know that humans don’t see it the same way… I won’t do it again, I promise! If you want me to apologize, I will!” 

Maybe Dokamon wasn’t a bad partner. He surely has grown a lot in a short time, even by himself. Digimon are really mysterious.

She sure wanted some support as well.

An appmon partner huh?

Maybe interacting with others would be pretty useful.

But go at your pace.

“Alright, when we go back there I want you to apologize to her! And we're going to climb a mountain this weekend!”

“Okay!”

Himiko then went back to her room, Dokamon by her side, ready to ask Tenko to climb mountains with them at the next hiking club gathering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These were really experimental but I hope you liked it!  
> It was a challenge to write shorter chapters, and try different points of view on each one.  
> It seemed to wrap up nicely for something that I took 4 days to make.  
> I wanted to do Dokamon with Himiko for a long time and struggled to find a way to write it, so I tried to make it about connections in general. I hope it isn't too shippy.  
> My original idea of a last chapter was exploring Tsumugi and Phascomon's partnership as them amplifying each others worst traits, fueling each other's despair, but I had no idea how to write it and I also didn't want to end the fanfic in a sad note so I decided to stop here.


End file.
